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2014-ERS SLAM OBAMA ON ISIL – POLITICO’s Burgess Everett: “Incumbent Democratic senators up for reelection this fall became the White House’s latest headache on Wednesday, criticizing President Barack Obama’s approach to confronting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In a tough letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday evening, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said he was ‘troubled’ by statements indicating the administration lacks a comprehensive military strategy in Syria. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) channeled many Republicans’ rhetoric on ISIL in asking the administration to clearly articulate a comprehensive strategy to take on the extremist group. And Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) lit into Obama’s goal to make ISIL a ‘manageable problem.’”

-- All three members are up for reelection this November and joined several other prominent Democrats — not to mention the chorus of Republicans — pressing Obama to lay out a clear plan in the Middle East … Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California is also among those asking the White House to take a tougher stance against ISIL, while Sens. Bill Nelson of Florida and Tim Kaine of Virginia are urging Congress to vote on authorizing Obama to take on the militants in Syria and Iraq.” http://goo.gl/oVX9rn

COMING ATTRACTIONS – Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) will announce later today that she’ll introduce a bipartisan resolution to honor journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, who were both murdered by the Islamic State extremists. Both men have New Hampshire ties – Foley’s hometown is Rochester while Sotloff attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden. The resolution from Shaheen, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will also condemn ISIL’s terrorist activities.

HOUSE GOP INCHING TOWARD EX-IM DEAL – John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman report that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) have privately agreed on a short-term reauthorization of the government financing agency. Not yet clear: Just how long that reauthorization is going to be, and whether such a plan would have the votes to pass the House. The POLITICO story: http://goo.gl/Yl3XXJ

--The Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe reports that as of now, congressional aides are optimistic on the chances of avoiding another government shutdown: “Absent any announcement of changes in immigration policy or a sudden request for military authorization, aides to House and Senate leaders said this week that the process of averting another government shutdown should move quickly and easily … House Republicans are expected to unveil a short-term spending plan next week that would continue current spending levels through at least early December, according to top aides.” http://goo.gl/12TuOx

--Roll Call’s Emma Dumain wraps up some other details about House Republicans’ plans for September, which Boehner said on an all-member conference call Wednesday will be “brief, but busy.” Top priority is the CR, but Boehner adds that the last weeks of the session should also draw a “very stark contrast” between the House GOP and Democrats: http://goo.gl/T2hUyl

@GOPLEADER PEN-AND-PADS COMING BACK? Scott Wong, your former Huddle quarterback, has this write-up in The Hill: “New House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is leaving the door open to bringing back weekly informal, on-the-record sessions with reporters, but a final decision hasn’t been made. Aides to the California Republican met Wednesday with the chairmen of the three Capitol Hill committees representing correspondents, who have called on McCarthy to revive the pen-and-pad briefings.” The three press committees involve include the Daily Press Gallery Standing Committee of Correspondents, the Periodical Gallery Standing Committee of Correspondents and the Radio and Television Correspondents Executive Committee. http://goo.gl/pxXhTn

TWITTER TRAFFIC -- @SenJohnMcCain: First I was sanctioned by Vladimir Putin, then #ISIS labeled me "the enemy," now Fidel Castro! Who's next?!

--Context: In a column for official Cuban state media, the former Cuban president accuses Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) of conspiring with Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, to create ISIL. The Jerusalem Post: http://goo.gl/RYujjk

--McCain also wants Congress to stay in session until it votes on authorizing use of force against the Islamic State. Roll Call’s Niels Lesniewski with a NORFOLK, Va. dateline: http://goo.gl/qsWtP3

SENATE MULLING MINIMUM-WAGE VOTE -- Alan Fram of the Associated Press: “Looking to motivate their most loyal supporters, Democrats may hold a campaign-season Senate vote as soon as next week on their effort to boost the federal minimum wage … The Senate may also revisit a pair of other Democratic measures this month that, like minimum wage, were blocked by Republicans earlier this year. One would let people refinance student loans at lower interest rates while the other would pressure employers to pay female workers the same as men.”

--“All three measures seem assured of defeat. But with less than eight weeks until congressional elections in which Republicans hope to capture Senate control, Democrats and their supporters see the issues as a chance to appeal to working-class, female and younger voters - groups that often back Democratic candidates - and contributors as well.” The minimum wage bill was blocked on a 54-42 vote in April. http://goo.gl/L9tmGG

TRANSITIONS – Lauren Claffey is leaving the office of retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) after five years to become communications director for the House Homeland Security Committee under Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Her replacement will be Virginia Dent, who’s coming from Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) press staff.

Breelyn S. Pete, current communications director for Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Calif.), is leaving the Hill Sept. 8 to become the director of public affairs for the Economic Development Administration within the Commerce Department. (h/t Burgess Everett)

#4 TED CRUZ – The Texas senator is named #4 in “The POLITICO 50,” a new annual list released today by POLITICO Magazine, for destroying the government in order to save it. Check out the full list & join the conversation online with #POLITICO50: http://politi.co/1Bbvo0a.

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, Sept. 4, 2014 and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. You know what to do -- please send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints, corrections and skim@politico.com. If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @seungminkim.

My new followers include @BenjaminDBecker and @CQnow.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – What do you think?

AROUND THE HILL – Early happy hours all around.

RON JOHNSON TO KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: NAME NAMES – The Wisconsin Republican said during his time in the Senate, he has “never” witnessed the kind of harassment behavior that the New York Democrat described in a recent interview. “If you’re going to throw out accusations, my guess is you probably ought to name names,” Johnson said of Gillibrand during an interview on NewsMaxTV.

--A Johnson spox later clarified his comments, saying Johnson doesn’t doubt Gillibrand and that Congress “would be improved if men making such appalling comments had to explain their actions." The Capital Times: http://goo.gl/LsHVRm

GUTIERREZ, ADVOCATES: DON’T DELAY EXECUTIVE ACTION – Amid all the recent chatter that the White House is angling to hold off any sweeping administrative moves on immigration, a group of advocates and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) held a conference call to urge President Barack Obama against doing just that. A host of red-state Democrats up for reelection this year are opposed to Obama moving on his own on deportations. My item: “Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said Wednesday that Obama should move quickly on executive action, calling for the decision to come ‘now’ and ‘in a transparent manner, before the election.’ ‘We should not put partisan politics and political … considerations ahead of fairness, ahead of justice, and ahead of good public policy,’ Gutiérrez said on a conference call hosted by the advocacy group America’s Voice. He added: ‘Democrats have to come to understand that you can’t pick and choose when [immigrants] are good for you.’” http://goo.gl/LmD5mh

SANFORD ON EX-WIFE CLAIMS: ‘PREPOSTEROUS’ – The State: “U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford lashed out Wednesday at his ex-wife, saying her demands that he have a psychiatric evaluation and for modified custody arrangements are ‘crazy.’ ‘Since the time of the divorce I have tried to do everything in my power to be both a good dad and a former husband,’ Sanford, 54, said in a statement. ‘It seems that nothing I can do at this point is enough, appropriate or adequate. The different accusations and requests made are, by their very nature preposterous, crazy, and wrong.’”

WORTH A CLICK – Pretty good headline here, from National Journal: “Watch Elizabeth Warren Tell a Story About a Barbecue, a Golden Retriever, and Harry Reid.” http://goo.gl/x6E9do

GUILTY PLEA FOR GRIMM EX-GIRLFRIEND – The New York Daily News: “The ex-girlfriend of embattled Congressman Michael Grimm pleaded guilty Wednesday to making an illegal contribution to his campaign. But Diana Durand’s lawyer wanted to make one point perfectly clear — she is not cooperating with the feds in an ongoing criminal probe of the Staten Island Republican’s fund-raising activities for the 2010 election.” Her lawyer tells the Daily News that “there is nothing to suggest the congressman or my client were complicit in each other’s activities.” http://goo.gl/68UbRG

WEDNESDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Two correct answers landed in my inbox before Huddle itself actually did, so I’ll call it a tie. Paul Hays and Wyeth Ruthven, vice president and managing director at Qorvis, were the first to correctly answer that Rep. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (D-Calif.) was the first lawmaker to give birth while in office – that was in 1973.

TODAY'S TRIVIA – Ruthven has today’s question: Only two U.S. senators have ever been censured at the same time for the same offense. Name them and the offense. The first person to correctly answer the question gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at skim@politico.com.

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